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Which TV game show would you dominate?
Before we get to today's topic, I have to applaud my friend Zoe. Zoe, who used to work with Phil Bronstein, announced last year that she was joining the U.S. Army. I've always been an enthusiastic patriot, and applauded the decision, but was still a little worried. To make basic training even more challenging, she doesn't like sports and she's a vegan. And I just couldn't see Lou Gossett Jr. in "An Officer and a Gentleman" getting behind Tofurkey.
lenpenzo.com
Survey says? I would suck at "Family Feud."
But Zoe kicked ass in basic, sent life-affirming updates throughout and I'm pretty sure she's a general now. So how am I going to reward this selfless service to our country? By stealing the great topic she introduced on her Twitter feed this week:
If you could be on any TV game show, which one would you dominate?
This becomes a complicated question with a lot of variables. Do you have dumb friends? You might not want to choose "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Are you a Kardashian? Your chances of winning "Family Feud" are incredibly slim. Do you have really short arms? "Wheel of Fortune" would at best be a strain, and could be impossible to play.
I thought about this over the past 48 hours, and made my choice, which is below. For discussion purposes, I'm deciding that any game show past or present qualifies. If you want the late Charles Nelson Reilly to be your "$20,000 Pyramid" partner, go for it. You may also choose your era/host if the show has been on for a few decades. (My "Family Feud" host choice would be: 1. Richard Dawson; 2. John O'Hurley; 3. Anybody else except Louie Anderson; 4. Louie Anderson. Except I would never pick "Family Feud," for reasons stated below.)
Your go-to TV game show in the comments. Read More 'Which TV game show would you dominate?' »
| January 20 2011 at 06:34 AM
Home Alone: What do you do when the kids are gone?
I'm resigned to the fact that there's no way I can bring this topic up without things getting extremely juveline fast. So surprise me. Let's see if we can get through this post and the ensuing comments without 57 references to masturbation. I'm not hopeful ...
Maybe not all of my tomorrows ...
I love time spent with my entire family, and I love hanging out with my wife. But, with apologies to all of the above, I also appreciate those little three and four hour blocks of time by myself in the house -- when my wife is running errands or taking the kids to her parents' place.
As they drive away, I always feel a little guilty at first. I often begin by straightening up -- conditioned from having children to constantly multitask and get household chores done in whatever sliver of spare time is available. But after about 20 minutes of that, I gain my senses ("Who am I trying to impress? No one is watching!") and temporarily revert back to my 25-year-old self. Life slows down a little bit, my confidence grows and the couch starts looking a lot more comfotable. There's almost never time to drink five Lucky Lagers and play Tecmo Bowl, but I do get to cut loose a little.
My alone time activities are below. Yours in the comments ... Read More 'Home Alone: What do you do when the kids are gone?' »
| January 19 2011 at 07:02 AM
"Coming to you, on the airwaves ..." Paul talks about Credit Man
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For those coming in late, our interview with Bay Area television legend Paul from the Diamond Center ran yesterday.
But not in its entirety. I decided that Credit Man, the "Citizen Kane" of locally produced television commercials, deserved its own post. Paul was happy to speak at length about it. That part of our interview is below.
If you haven't seen it already, please check out the original interview with Paul by clicking here. Paul on Credit Man is below ...
When did you realize Credit Man had become iconic?
I didn't realize how big it was until I went to a high school basketball game in Antioch. One of my employees, his brother played for a high school team there. I showed up about 10 or 15 minutes late. The place was sold out -- maybe 1,500 or 2,000 people. I hadn't been to a high school game in 20 years. I took maybe five or six steps inside of this gym. Within seconds, the roof came off. They started to sing the Credit Man song as I walked to my seat. Read More '"Coming to you, on the airwaves ..." Paul talks about Credit Man' »
| December 24 2010 at 08:31 AM
Paul from the Diamond Center interview: A Holiday Miracle
Longtime readers of The Poop know about our obsession with Paul from the Diamond Center. We've always celebrated local commercials from our childhood -- from Ed Barbara at Furniture U.S.A. to Marty and George at The Saw Mill -- but none more than Paul. He's the Bill Russell of Bay Area pitchman. He wasn't just the greatest of his time, he changed the game. Want to know if someone is from the Bay Area? Just say the words "Credit Man" and see if they start singing the tune.
For 25 years, he ruled the Bay Area airwaves.
My relationship with Paul Copansky developed slowly. He left a long message -- with a promise to someday let me interview him, but no contact info -- on my answering machine last year. My next contact from Paul came when he called me at home about two months ago. Imagine the scene: I'm sitting in my bedroom, when my wife comes in the room, acting like we just won Publisher's Clearing House. Her hand carrying the phone was shaking. "It's ... it's ... Paul from the Diamond Center."
After twice discussing how we might conduct an interview, I called him from work one day and he said "Let's just do it any way you want. I trust you." I turned on the recorder and much of the conversation is below.
There was too much for one post, so I'll be following up with a Part II that covers nothing but the Credit Man commercial either later today or tomorrow. Also, Paul has tentatively agreed to field some reader questions and maybe pose with me for a photo -- early next year I'll create a post here or on our Facebook fan page where readers can submit questions.
I'm not going to tell you what to write in the comments, but try to come in with a good attitude. Paul was nice enough to give an hour of his time.
And now, a man who needs no introduction if you watched Channel 44 during the daytime in the 1980s ...
When did you open your first Diamond Center?
I opened my first business up in Oakland in the Eastmont Mall. It was called Keepsake Diamonds, and then later on I changed it to The Diamond Center. Early in my career we started doing these 60 second radio commercials ... Read More 'Paul from the Diamond Center interview: A Holiday Miracle' »
| December 23 2010 at 07:36 AM
Celebrating the Christmas day television marathon
Thinking about hosting Christmas and having the entire family over for days of festivity and merry making filled me with a special kind of joy, but only because I remembered that all the activity and commotion would probably force me into hiding, where I'd have plenty of time to take in all the TV marathons that run on Christmas day.
holiday.fandango.com
What the hell is a Fraggle Stick?
Nothing says Christmas like 24 straight hours of "Bad Santa."
I don't know who started the idea of Christmas day marathons but that person should definitely get to carve the roast beast. After all the cooking and cleaning and wrapping, it's nice to slip away for a few quiet moments, knowing that Jimmy Stewart will always be there or that Ralphie will be shooting someone's eye out. It's calming, like egg nog.
I was watching the Travel Channel the other day and they announced that "Man vs. Food" will be running a Christmas day marathon. Now, I know this isn't high culture programming, but I like a guy who can wolf down 15 dozen oysters in 45 minutes or an entire 8 pound burrito all by himself. It felt like Santa came early, and he was carrying a 5-foot all meat pizza in his sleigh. I really started to look forward to Christmas.
If it was up to me, though, there are a couple shows or movies I'd put on the endless loop on Christmas day, just so I could check in when I needed a break every now and then. Please add your suggestions in the comments.
1. "Bad Santa": This is one of those Christmas classics that gets better with age -- not in the sappy, nostalgic way of "It's a Wonderful Life." Rather, you start to notice things in the 50th viewing that you didn't notice in the previous 49 viewings because you were too busy struggling to breathe from all the laughter. Watching John Ritter and Bernie Mac makes it a touch bittersweet, knowing these comic geniuses are no longer around. You know what, they should just run this the entire month of December. Read More 'Celebrating the Christmas day television marathon' »
| December 22 2010 at 08:03 AM
A tribute to the television Yule Log ...
I received a press release yesterday from KTVU and KICU director of marketing Jeff Holub, announcing that "The Holiday Log" will return on TV-36 from 7 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Christmas Day. This is KICU's version of the Yule Log, the virtual fireplace which originated in New York and was adapted in the Bay Area by Jim Gabbert and TV-20 in the 1980s.
www.geek.com
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-log.
I've been a huge Yule Log fan for close to 30 years, and check local listings each holiday season to see when and where it will be on. I was glad to hear that the KICU log upgraded to HD last year, so I wouldn't be tempted to switch to a competing Yule Log on a soulless cable channel somewhere in the 900s of my Comcast listings. TV-36 was there for me when I was 11 years old and wanted to watch "Star Blazers." I'd rather give them my fake fireplace business.
I have a hard time explaining my love for television fireplaces. Kitsch is a small part of it. There's a hypnotic quality to the visual that is appealing. Kids like it. It's almost always commercial-free. And the music -- usually provided by a local adult contemporary station -- combines with whatever I'm drinking to provide a nice holiday lobotomy. Christmas with the Yule Log is the only time of the year that you're going to hear an Andy Williams song followed immediately by something from Wham!
But mostly I like the freedom it provides to have my television on, without getting distracted from spending time with my loved ones. Turning on a football game or even "A Christmas Story" in a room full of people is an anti-social/borderline passive aggressive act. Turning the channel to the Yule Log is an act of warmth and togetherness. It casts its magic spell that rids the room of dysfunction. With apologies to "Modern Family," I'm guessing that the Yule Log would have been Jesus's favorite program.
Read More 'A tribute to the television Yule Log ...' »| December 15 2010 at 07:20 AM
"They're smoking weed ..." (I'm starting to like these Texas fans)
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I heard the audio of this on Ronn Owens this morning, and the video clip was forwarded to me through e-mail and Twitter by a few friends.
I have to say, the Texas fans are starting to grow on me. I talked to a father and son in Rangers gear on BART yesterday, and another Texan asking for directions today, and they were absolutely charming. While we haven't gone on the road yet, I'm apologizing in advance for saying that they might be worse than the Phillies fans. The Texans so far seem less judgmental about our weirdness and more fascinated by it, and I totally love that about them.
After I wrote this snippy blog post about the mayor's bet, I got a very nice note from a deputy city manager of Arlington pointing out that his mayor (not the mayor of Dallas) would be participating in the wager. Then he welcomed me to the state so he could show some Texas hospitality. And I don't think that was a euphemism for me getting stomped on in an alley. I really think he wanted to show me around and feed me ribs.
Anyway, I hope the Giants kick the Rangers' asses in four games, or maybe five six so we can celebrate at home. But afterward, let's all go get a beer together. (And bring Newy Scruggs! He must be the Dallas Mark Pitta ...) As long as we talk about anything other than politics, I'm guessing we'll all have a great time.
(UPDATED! 12:56 a.m.: The Chronicle's Justin Berton gets into the Texas fan mindset more deeply than I do in this article. It helps that he actually interviewed people. Please check it out.)
| October 28 2010 at 12:02 PM
Has your family been getting into the Giants games?
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First, a confession: The YouTube clip you see above is the Capricorn One of shaky home movie sports TV celebration videos. The scene with my parents and kids took place approximately six minutes after the Giants won the National League pennant with their final out against the Phillies. My older son was playing Legos in his room when the team won for real, so I backed up the DVR until there were two outs left in the ninth and we reconstructed the scene/celebrated again.
This has, for better or worse, been a regular practice in my house. While my older son and I had a perfect time at his first Giants game earlier this year, neither of my boys (ages 5 and 2) can sit through an entire game without a Coke bottle slide and a guy in a seal costume to take off the edge. And I definitely don't want to force it on them. So much of the Giants' playoff run has been big moments celebrated in a series of tape-delayed fakeouts.
As annoying as this short attention span theater method sounds, the Giants playoff run has been a blast. My wife can watch a little basketball, but for the most part I watch sports alone in my house. She's becoming more interested in the games, and my sons are starting to get more excited, too.
A few more observations below. Let me know how your family's Giants fandom is trending in the comments ... Read More 'Has your family been getting into the Giants games?' »
| October 28 2010 at 07:06 AM
RIP Tom Bosley
post-gazette.com
It hasn't been a fun week for Bay Area residents who grew up rushing home after school to watch family-friendly sitcoms on KBHK Channel 44. The death of "Leave it to Beaver" mother Barbara Billingsley this weekend was followed today by Tom Bosley.
Like many of you, I remember Bosley for his role as the wise, generous and often frisky patriarch Howard Cunningham on "Happy Days." He was also a hell of a great landlord, and a good role model for Arthur Fonzarelli. (It's safe to say that without the steadying influence of Mr. C, The Fonz would probably have become a third-striker by the end of Season 4.)
That being said, I think it's important not to mourn Bosley's most famous character at the expense of the man. If you look at his long and impressive history as a television, movie and stage actor -- be sure to read the Associated Press story on his passing here -- you'll see that Bosley won a Tony Award in the 1960s for his portrayal of New York City mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia. As much as you saw him pitching for Glad trash bags and D-Con bug killer, he spent much of his career taking on challenging stage projects and voicing characters for children's programs.
Read More 'RIP Tom Bosley' »| October 19 2010 at 12:40 PM
More Schoolhouse Rock! videos: Reader's choice
I really enjoyed your comments in this recent Schoolhouse Rock! post, where I listed my favorites. It's a rare and wonderful thing when a blog post on SFGate gets more than 100 comments, and not a single one is even slightly negative.
theweddex.com
And then I unpacked my ...
I was looking through your arguments for your favorites and definitely warmed to a few of them that didn't make my list, while discovering one or two I somehow hadn't seen before. I also learned a lot about the creators, too many of whom have passed away. (Next time I go to Amoeba Records, I'll definitely be looking for a Blossom Dearie album. Or maybe I'll just play Figure Eight over and over ...)
Below is a reader's choice list for the best Schoolhouse Rock! songs, based on the ones that appeared the most in the comments. There was also a lot of love for Interjections!, but I left that one out because the YouTube video had annoying subtitles. You can check it out here. Or better yet ... Hey! Yow! Ouch! You can check it out here! Read More 'More Schoolhouse Rock! videos: Reader's choice' »
| September 01 2010 at 07:10 AM
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